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Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin

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Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin (The Music Box and the Princess) is an opera in two acts by Austrian composer Franz Schreker with a libretto by the composer.

Composition history

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The work was composed from 1909 to 1912. Schreker revised it into a one-act version entitled Das Spielwerk in 1915. Both versions are published by Universal Edition.

Performance history

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The original two-act version was given a simultaneous premiere in Frankfurt and Vienna on 15 March 1913. Although it failed to repeat the success of Schreker's previous opera Der ferne Klang, the Vienna production caused a scandal which only helped to make Schreker's name more widely known and consolidate his reputation as one of Vienna's foremost modernists.[1]

The premiere of the revised one-act version took place on 30 October 1920 at the National Theater Munich conducted by Bruno Walter.[1]

The prelude, under the title Vorspiel zur Oper 'Das Spielwerk', can be performed separately.[2]

Recordings

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Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin: Thomas Johannes Mayer, Julia Henning, Hans-Jürgen Schöpflin, Matthias Klein, Anne-Carolyn Schlüter, Hans Georg Ahrens, Bernd Gebhardt, Jörg Sabrowski, Jakob Zethner, Paul McNamara, Martin Fleitmann, Kieler Opernchor, Kinderchor Kiel, Philharmonisches Orchester Kiel, Ulrich Windfuhr 2003, Classic Production Osnabrück.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Christopher Hailey: 'Franz Schreker: A cultural biography' (Cambridge University Press, 1993)
  2. ^ https://www.universaledition.com/franz-schreker-659/works/vorspiel-zur-oper-das-spielwerk-5737 Retrieved February 2019.
  3. ^ Gramophone Das Spielwerk und die Prinzessin
Sources
  • Hailey, Christopher, Franz Schreker: A cultural biography Cambridge University Press, 1993